Path Of Exile 3.26 Merciless Gauntlet: How To Play This Event?
Posted: Aug 02, 2025 Views: 456
After August arrives, you’re likely increasingly anticipating the release of Path of Exile 2 patch 0.3.0 at the end of the month. However, Path of Exile 1 actually welcomed a new event just a few days ago!
Called Merciless Gauntlet, it’s launched by renowned Path of Exile streamer Zizaran. It officially began on July 31st and will run until August 10th.
This isn’t the first time Zizaran has launched such an event in the game, but each event’s gameplay varies depending on the related league’s mechanics.
To help you earn event rewards, or at least get a taste of the fun, we will introduce Merciless Gauntlet to you, and some tips for playing it.
About Merciless Gauntlet
Think of it as a hardcore solo, self-found Mercenaries league. During your playthrough, you’ll earn points by defeating bosses and other enemies, and rewards will be awarded based on your points.
It’s important to note that some Merciless Gauntlet gameplay rules are inconsistent with Mercenaries of Trarthus League:
- There are no banned skills.
- Doryani’s Prototype cannot be obtained in any way.
- When challenging bosses, you can only use up to three portals instead of the normal six, otherwise you won’t receive points even if you kill the boss.
- The available Ascendancy classes are based on the previous Legacy of Phrecia settings.
Fortunately, you should still be able to consume existing POE currency to upgrade your gear’s rarity or refresh affixes, thereby enhancing it and earning more event points by killing bosses.
Event Battle Mechanics
In addition to the point-based reward mechanics and main rules mentioned above, most bosses in Merciless Gauntlet have different skills (either enhanced or swappable) than in regular 3.26 gameplay, and it’s even possible to encounter multiple bosses simultaneously.
Furthermore, different campaigns and maps in different acts will have different modifiers. However, Tier 17 maps will not have any additional modifiers and will drop five times more Uber boss fragments.
The following are the playable areas and bosses in this event:
- Campaign (Act 1 - Act 5)
- Campaign (Act 6 - Act 10)
- White Maps (Area Level 68-72)
- Yellow Maps (Area Level 73-77)
- Red Maps (Area Level 78-83)
- Tier 17 Maps (Area Level 84)
- Atlas Bosses (Non-Uber Sirus, Maven, Exarch, etc.): (Area Level 84)
- Uber Bosses (Area Level 85)
All bosses have unique abilities and mechanics. If you plan to fight to the end, it’s best to know which bosses will appear in the next area and their characteristics in advance so you can plan your responses accordingly.
What Tips Might Help You?
Due to the hardcore nature of Merciless Gauntlet, your character only has one life, and once you die, you can’t restart. Therefore, you must stay as safe as possible, even if this initially slows your progress.
Based on this, while killing more difficult bosses will grant more points initially, it’s perfectly acceptable to focus on farming the most basic boss, Hillock, to earn points and useful drops in the early stages.
This boss can be found in Act 1’s Twilight Strand. When fighting this boss, be aware that he will spawn Unstable Aberration via Leap Slam in phase 2, constantly disrupting you. Ranged classes are generally better suited to dealing with him.
To ensure your attack and defense capabilities continue to grow, you must not only obtain loot from bosses but also continuously trade with NPCs for more and better gear to replace your existing gear and upgrade its affixes.
It’s worth mentioning that if you’re interested in the event bonuses described below, it’s best to enter the event in your strongest class, as this will increase your chances of finishing at the top of the leaderboard and winning rewards!
What Are The Event Rewards?
First, if you participate in this event and your character reaches level 2 during the event, you’ll receive a Gauntlet Glove Effect, which will track your highest level achieved during the event. If you complete all event campaigns, you’ll also receive a Dawn of the Hunt Mystery Box.
As for the actual prize, a portion will be allocated for special bonuses, such as first kills of pinnacle bosses. The majority of the prize will be distributed to the top 1 scorers (12%) and the top 2 scorers (4%).
In addition, if you rank well in your class, you’ll also receive bonuses: the top 1 scorer in each class will receive 8%, and the top 2 scorer in each class will receive 4%.
Even if you’re not as skilled, you still have a chance to get prize through your luck! There will be a raffle for the event, and if your character reaches the corresponding level range, you’ll have a chance to win the following physical/in-game items!
- Reach Level 50: 5x $20 Food Delivery Gift Cards, 250x Dawn of the Hunt Mystery Box
- Reach Level 60: 1x Keychron K4 Pro Wireless Keyboard, 8x Mist Portal Effect, Divergence Portal Effect, Astral Portal Effect, Heritage Portal Effect
- Reach Level 70: 1x Logitech G502X Wireless Mouse, 8x Divergence Weapon Effect, Deepwater Weapon Effect, Winter Dragon Weapon Effect
- Reach Level 80: 1x Samsung 9100 Pro 1TB, 8x Divergence Cloak, Siren Cloak, Starfall Cloak
- Reach Level 90: 1x NVIDIA RTX 5070, 1x Winter Dragon, Nightfall, Rapture, Siren, Mercurial, Necrolord, Lightning Stygian Armor Packs
- Reach Level 95: 1x NVIDIA RTX 5080
The above are the main information and tips for Merciless Gauntlet event. The event won’t last long, so be sure to seize the opportunity to claim the rewards! Good luck!
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